|
Saturday, 11 December, 2010 5:19 PM
CMA New Artist Spotlight: 'Jason
Sturgeon'
| 
Photo
by Aaron Crisler
New
country artist Jason Sturgeon |
| By
Bob Doerschuk |
| ©
2010 CMA Close Up News Service |
Some of the sauce and
swagger of That’s Me stems from the independence Jason Sturgeon
cultivated in his early teens, on his way to becoming an award-winning
quarter horse jockey. Maybe it comes as well from the summer jobs
he worked in oilfields and on the family farm. A lot owes to his
listening tastes; he has no problem shuffling from Kenny Rogers
and George Strait over to Godsmack and Rage Against the Machine.
The truth, though, is
simpler: That’s him. His debut album reflects his small-town
upbringing in Petersburg, Ind., the protectiveness of a mother dead
set against his learning guitar for fear it would lead to bar gigs
and the far-sightedness of an uncle who knew that Sturgeon would
end up being a Country singer anyway.
First, he honored his
parents’ wishes by graduating from Vincennes University in
Indiana and finding a job as a medical device engineer at Cook Medical
in Bloomington. But the horses and the hours passed under open skies
drew Sturgeon back into music. With his band Red Eye Max, he opened
shows for Rodney Atkins, Brooks & Dunn and Luke Bryan. They
split up after nearly winning Kenny Chesney’s “Next
Big Star” competition, which liberated Sturgeon to try his
luck as a solo artist. And an encounter with Dane Clark, the drummer
from John Mellencamp’s band, set the stage for That’s
Me, on Toolpusher Records.
Co-writing all 11 songs
with Clark and co-producing with him too, Sturgeon introduces himself
on his first single, “Simple Life.” From an opening
verse sweetened by steel and mandolin, with muscle added by Clark’s
drums on the chorus, he lays out a vision defined by small-town
borders yet drawn toward limitless horizons. If there’s a
whiff of Mellencamp in his vocal, that’s understandable, but
in the rugged romance of “The Cover,” the stark heartbreak
of the cello-brushed “Alone Again Tonight” and the fist-pumping
passion of the title cut, there’s much more than that to savor.
That’s Me? That’s Sturgeon.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Q&A
DREAM DUET PARTNER
“Emmylou Harris — what a voice!”
SONG YOU SING IN
THE SHOWER
“Usually old blues tunes or ideas for songs I’ve had.”
ACTOR TO PORTRAY
YOU IN A BIOPIC
“Russell Crowe — in ‘Gladiator,’ not ‘A
Perfect Mind.’”
FAVORITE MODE OF
TRANSPORTATION
“My favorite mode of transportation would have to be on the
back of my Harley, I lose myself and that’s a great feeling!”
SONG YOU WISH YOU
HAD WRITTEN
“‘The Dance.’ It’s such a timeless song,
with so much feeling and meaning to so many.”
LUCKY CHARM
“I was playing a show in Sacramento, Calif., and a Marine
gave me a coin from his platoon that was stationed in Afghanistan.
He said that heard my song ‘Simple Life’ on the radio
that day and came down to the show to give it to me and asked if
I would take it with me on my travels, I got goose bumps. I was
in awe listening to him tell his stories and it was an honor that
he gave that coin to me. I keep that with me wherever I go.”
FAVORITE FOOD ON
THE ROAD
“One of the best meals I’ve had was when I played at
the Crystal Palace in Bakersfield. Buck’s place sure does
a steak right!”
PROFESSION IF NOT
AN ARTIST
“Probably an engineer. I did that for 10 years while gigging
part time during the weekends before pursuing my full time musical
career.”
On the Web: www.JasonSturgeonMusic.com
AmericaJR.com
is Detroit's exclusive media outlet for this syndicated weekly column!
|
